Mark Alexander | Suru Wallcovering

Suru is a natural-fibre wallcovering with a broad, irregular weave. The strands are wide and flattened, and they are laid with enough variation that the surface has real depth to it. The long repeat means the eye does not find a rhythm easily, so a wall reads as a continuous woven field rather than as a design. It has a dry matt finish with no sheen at all. Of the Collage III surfaces it has the most physical presence and the least pattern.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 7.32 metres long, with a 100 centimetre vertical repeat, so drops must be calculated on the repeat, not on wall height. Six colourways are made: Alabaster and Parchment at the pale end, Pale Dove in the soft greys, and Tempest, Ocean and Typhoon carrying the blues and blue-greys. Colour varies panel to panel and roll to roll, and with a weave this open the backing shows through unevenly. That is inherent to the material rather than a fault.

We use Suru on a single feature wall in a sitting room, in a study where the whole room can take it, and behind a headboard as a full-height panel. Parchment sits well with oak and linen, and Ocean and Typhoon suit a room that gets used in the evening. It works best against plain painted woodwork rather than alongside more texture. Order a sample to see it in your own light, lit from the side.

Hang Suru paste-the-wall with butted seams, and do not let paste get onto the face, because it will not sponge off a natural fibre. Calculate drops on the 100 centimetre repeat, which wastes more than a short-repeat paper. Check the batch number on every roll and keep the room to one batch. Reverse alternate drops to distribute the tonal shift. Order at least one spare roll for cutting and later repair, and cut with a fresh blade each time so the strands do not pull.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 7.32 metres
• Pattern repeat: 100 cm vertical
• Suitable for: Feature walls, sitting rooms, studies, bedheads
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage III, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 6 (Alabaster, Parchment, Pale Dove, Tempest, Ocean, Typhoon)